


together we go (to travel through snow)

by theriveroflight



Series: the road not taken [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Background Poly, Inspired by Hallmark Christmas Movies, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:48:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28305582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theriveroflight/pseuds/theriveroflight
Summary: Weiss Schnee lives happily with her girlfriend in Vale. But when the discovery of a new Dust mine comes up, Blake takes the opportunity to visit her parents while Weiss investigates on behalf of the SDC - the CEO normally isn't in charge of these things, but it isn't like she has anything better to do, right?But when her former teammate answers the door, Weiss realizes that things are a lot more complicated than they seem.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Weiss Schnee/Yang Xiao Long, Everyone & Everyone
Series: the road not taken [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2073159
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	together we go (to travel through snow)

**Author's Note:**

> there's some implied poly STR & fair game, if that isn't your cup of tea
> 
> title from "Oh Miss Believer" by twenty one pilots
> 
> rated T for language

“I really wish I could go with you, Blake,” Weiss begins. “I’d love to meet your parents, but I know they’re probably not fond of me for who I am. And besides,” she sighs, “business beckons.”

“They’d  _ love  _ you,” Blake reassures. “You’ve done so much to improve the SDC since Jacques died.”

“But there’s still more to go.”

“The fight against oppression doesn’t end quickly, Weiss. You’ve done so much in so little time. You care, and they’ll look at that more than the fact that your last name is Schnee.”

“Either way, it’s moot.” She takes Blake’s hands in hers. “That new dust mine is where I need to be, and I’m stuck there. And even if your parents are fine with me, the rest of Menagerie…”

Blake tilts her head downwards. “You’re right, I know. Besides, business is business and I get it. We can’t always be together. It’s not healthy, or something. Codependency is a bad thing.”

“I get it,” Weiss answers quickly. “Especially since…” She trails off, not letting herself think too much about Adam Taurus. It’s unpleasant, and she doesn’t want to bring up bad memories for Blake, either.

“So, I’ll see you after Christmas.” They hug briefly — neither of them are hugely into PDA, and they turn enough heads just by being who they are as a couple. “Love you.”

“I love you too.” 

Blake walks into the airport’s security, and Weiss turns away and exits the airport. She has her own mission, after all. Going out to a village in Vale to unearth the country’s first Dust mine. It’s  _ revolutionary,  _ and she’d be more excited if it weren’t December and her girlfriend wasn’t going away. After all, the only Dust mines have been found in the mountains of Atlas and in Vacuo — and while she’s trying to balance between not being a monopoly and keeping the SDC thriving, well, there are a lot of people that are going to be interested in this.

She’s one of them, because Dust can be hard to find. But if someone else wants to start a Dust company, well, she knows about the competition in Vacuo — no one big enough to go toe to toe with her company but eventually, eventually.

They don’t let Weiss do much as a CEO, but she wanted to take a look at this in-person, and there’s hardly anyone that could dissuade Weiss anyways.

She gets into her car, and drives home to pick up her suitcase. Her assistant tried to get her to hire a bodyguard for the trip, but Weiss is a  _ Huntress,  _ for goodness sake, she can protect herself.

The drive out to the village, called Patch, doesn’t take long. It’s an island, supposedly, but there’s a bridge, so she can drive instead of taking a flight like Blake did. While she doesn’t  _ have  _ to be frugal — she has plenty of money, after all — she still enjoys driving, and having a car in the city isn’t exactly commonplace.

An island isn’t exactly where she’d expect to find a Dust mine, but she remembers the unrefined gravity Dust on the floating islands between Atlas and Mistral, and maybe it isn’t quite as unlikely as she thought.

She arrives on the island, and there doesn’t seem to be much, but she knows that there are people expecting her on the island. The person who reported the discovery, Summer Rose. Weiss takes out her phone and calls her assistant. They pick up immediately.

“What was the address for that contact again?”

The assistant rattles off some coordinates, and says they’ll text her those, too. She hangs up quickly, and looks at the text, putting it into her GPS.

There aren’t many roads on this island, and she hopes that it doesn’t get too thin for her car to pass through. Either way, probably better to walk.

She drives down a dirt path, and when it narrows, she pulls her car to the side. Her phone’s signal is gone, because of course it is, and she quickly commits the directions from her GPS to memory before turning off her car so she knows how to walk there from her location.

The house is a small one-story, with a rather large shed next to it. From looking at it, it isn’t overly old, but isn’t overly young either — built 50 to 60 years ago, from her knowledge of architecture.

She knocks on the door.

Someone familiar answers the door. “Weiss? What are you doing here?”

“Yang?” 

“Let her in,” she hears a voice call from inside. “She’s probably here about the mine.”

She nods curtly, stepping into the house.

“I had no idea you were out here.”

“You could have called.” Yang sounds oddly hurt, and she can’t help but wince. “But you were too distracted with Blake.”

“My father and my brother died three days after graduation,” she says flatly. “The company has been mine ever since.”

“Yang, go see what Tai and Ruby are up to,” the woman she heard earlier chides. “They’re out in the back.”

Yang bites her lip, but acquiesces and leaves the room.

“So, you’re Weiss Schnee.”

“And you’re Summer Rose, I presume.” Weiss sits down at the table.

“Would you like me to show you to the site?”

Weiss deliberates. “I’d like to know what’s around the island. Are you and your family the only inhabitants?”

“Pretty much. I mean, we only  _ own  _ this plot, but my…Taiyang and I are both Huntsmen, so we can defend our land where others would have difficulty.”

She nods. The Atlas military is always a big help in defending their mines, and while she’s trying to wean off of using the military (she wants to run on her own strength) to protect sites, it’s hard to find independent Huntsmen that want to work for the SDC. Even with her in charge, trying to change the everything that Jacques did to ruin it.

She was unprepared for a camping trip, but she can always sleep in her car. It isn’t  _ comfortable,  _ and she was hoping to sleep somewhere better, but if everything goes well she won’t be here for long. A week, at most, and she’ll be back in the city, waiting until the 29th to pick Blake up. 

“I did drive here from the city, but I can still spare some energy. I want to see where you found it.”

“It was Ruby who found it, actually. She was training with her scythe, and hit the wrong spot with a bullet. You know how Dust is.”

“A small vein doesn’t mean a mine.” But if there’s one, there’s probably more. She can feel excitement rising above her exhaustion, and she can’t wait to see whatever’s out there.

“I hope you’re prepared if we need to fight.”

Weiss double checks to make sure Myrtenaster is at her waist. “With all due respect, I met Yang at Beacon Academy. I’m a Huntress like you.”

“Good. I don’t know how Grimm get here, I haven’t spotted any on the bridge before, but they have to get here somehow.” 

Summer grabs something (probably a weapon in disguise) off the wall, and the two of them leave the house.

Weiss hears the cawing of some kind of bird from the trees. She looks in the direction of the sound.

“Nothing to be worried about, we just have a couple birds that like to hang out in the area.”

Well, that was perfectly normal. Perhaps Weiss was just a bit paranoid.

She follows Summer through the paths in the forest, and they eventually arrive at a crater, marked by a gap in the woods. Weiss carefully descends down into it. It isn’t very deep, but that’s okay — mining is about digging deeper, after all, and she can clearly see the vein of fire Dust running through the rocks. Getting that out will be tricky, but the right workers will do it.

She grabs her phone and snaps pictures, of the vein, of the crater, of the surrounding area so she remembers where it is later. She was keeping track of how to get there from the house, but getting there from her car will be a different story. Either way, she’ll need to contact the people back at the company with her findings, get some more people on this, figure out what the land would cost — and whether the Dust within it makes it worth going after for the SDC.

“Got what you needed?” Summer calls from the edge of the crater. “I would prefer not to take my chances.”

They can both fight for themselves, but Weiss understands the sentiment. She climbs out of the crater and looks over at the sunset, watching the rays peek through the trees. It’s a peaceful image, one that contrasts viscerally with the crater behind her.

“For now,” she answers. “I’ll have to come back tomorrow to collect samples.”

“Alright. Do you have somewhere to sleep?”

“I have my car?” She shrugs. “I wasn’t thinking things through.”

“We have a guest room. You’re welcome to stay.”

“Thank you for your incredibly generous offer, but I cannot—”

“Nonsense. Unless we have some unexpected guests, there’s plenty of room.”

Unexpected guests? “I haven’t seen anyone else since well before the bridge.” What sort of people could come by now?

Summer doesn’t say anything. In fact, neither of them say anything until they get back to the house.

“I have to grab my suitcase from my car,” she says curtly. “It’ll take about fifteen minutes.” And she thinks about having to cohabit with Yang, something she hasn’t done since she was still in the Academy. Years have passed since then. She fell out of touch with Yang shortly after she took over the company — Blake was her only contact outside for a long time until she reconnected with one of the other teams from the Academy — team JNPR. She knew  _ of  _ Ruby, Yang’s little sister, but she hadn’t connected the dots until now. After all, she hadn’t known Ruby’s last name, so she assumed that they had the same one. Sometimes strange things happen, of course.

She grabs her suitcase from the trunk and locks the car. Grimm don’t attack unless provoked — her car won’t be wrecked when she comes back to it.

She comes back in the door. A man is at the stove who resembles Yang quite a bit — she suspects that he is the aforementioned Taiyang.

“You’re…Weiss, right?”

“Ruby Rose, I presume?” she asks in return.

“That’s me.” Weiss contemplates a little bit. She never met Ruby at Beacon — she knows that Yang at least tried to communicate, but back then they had separate circles, and Weiss was always busy trying to get their fourth teammate into something okay. Team WTBY didn’t exactly  _ struggle  _ then, but she grappled with trying to unlearn everything after she learned about Blake, and she felt like the three of them were drifting away from their fourth teammate. It made sense — Clay Torras was the only guy on their team, after all, and Weiss was struggling to keep them all together.

“It’s good to meet you,” Ruby says. “I’ve always wanted to, but Yang said you were busy.”

“Really?”

“I wanted advice. I didn’t know how to lead.”

“I didn’t know, either,” Weiss says. “I would have been fresh out of advice.”

“So, are you here about the Dust vein?” Yang peeks out from the doorway.

She exhales. “I am.”

“Will I be seeing you more often, then?” Yang asks, and it feels like sinking into an easy routine. “Cause it’d be good to catch up.”

“I didn’t think you’d want to stick around here. You always said you were an adventure-seeker.”

“And you went right out and achieved your shiny little dream. The real world doesn’t always end up working out the way we want.” Yang’s eyes briefly flash red. “It wasn’t going to work out.”

Weiss takes a deep breath. “I didn’t do it the way I wanted to. It shouldn’t have been like this.”

“I know.” Yang takes another deep breath, too. “I know you didn’t want this. I didn’t…I’m glad Blake’s been with you, you know. Let me just say that there  _ is  _ a reason that I’m here that’s more than the holidays.” 

Something is brewing on Patch, and it’s more than just the mine.

Weiss knows that Blake ran after sleeping with Yang, came straight to her and cried about things she could never have.

And Weiss accidentally cut Yang off after they graduated. Really, it was a mutual cutoff, where they drifted away from each other after until they just stopped talking to each other altogether.

“She was hurt,” Weiss whispers. She doesn’t mean to rub it in Yang’s face, but there’s something…something else, after all this time.

“It wasn’t me. There was something deeper, some greater issue. She didn’t tell you?” Yang asks.

“I don’t know what happened,” Weiss says firmly, “but I know that I don’t want her to cry to me ever again.” 

“I understand.” Yang looks at her, and Weiss feels some kind of tension between them.

“Break it up, ladies,” Summer calls. “Dinner’s ready.”

Weiss backs away and takes a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to provoke you.”

“I know. We both need to learn how to be in the same space again.”

“You’re right. We should eat.”

They both make their way to sit down at the table. Dinner is…fine, she supposes, and there’s plenty for everyone.

She texts Blake afterwards.  _ You landed yet? _

_ I’m at my parents’ now. How are you? _

_ I’m doing fine. Dust is legit. _

_ You never use abbreviations unless something’s wrong. What’s going on? _

_ Yang’s stepmom reported the vein. _

_ Does that mean that you guys saw each other? _

_ Yes. But I’d rather talk about you than her. ;) _

_ OMG, you’re such a dork. Love you. _

_ Love you too. _

“Hey.” There’s a knock on the door. “I don’t know what happened between you two at Beacon, but Summer’s talking to Yang, so I figured I should ask you.”

“You’re…her father, right?”

“Call me Taiyang.”

“Okay. So, my girlfriend was also on our team. She and Yang were partners, so they were closer, and it also took a while for us to get to  _ friends  _ for a variety of reasons that I don’t feel like getting into. She had…a really awful ex that I won’t get into, and Yang was helping her through that. I don’t know exactly what happened, but something happened on graduation night. And then she came to me for help, and Yang and I ended up drifting apart as a result.”

“What about your fourth teammate?”

“We were never that close. I worked with him as a partner and in the field, but the three of us were closer to each other than our fourth. My girlfriend and I were the only ones that stuck together after graduation. We’ve been dating for three years now.”

“How long do you plan on staying?”

“A week, at most. No longer than that if I can help it.”*

“Why are you out here for Christmas if you might miss it?”

What is  _ with  _ the obsession with Christmas? It’s a fine holiday, but too many stuffy holiday parties have disillusioned her from the holiday. She remembers having some fun with Blake, dancing in their socks to Christmas songs as she worked to decorate the apartment, batting at tinsel.

She’s a casual participant, not a real celebrator.

“My girlfriend is visiting her parents. She’s a Faunus, so even if her parents would be fine with me, the community they live in wouldn’t be, and she wants me to stay safe. Even with the reforms I’m trying to push through, it can’t shake the legacy of my past actions and my father’s before me.” Weiss sighs. “I may as well be here, doing something important. This is absolutely  _ revolutionary  _ — it puts into question  _ everything  _ we know about where Dust comes from! It’s amazing, and I couldn’t be  _ happier  _ to be here, despite the unexpected.”

She would rather be with Blake, of course, but that’s not exactly an option right now.

“Are you buying it?”

“Not sure yet. Need to do some more appraisal, send the photos I got to the investors. See if they think it’s worth it. I want to foster competition — monopolies don’t make for a healthy economy. This is far from Atlas. And I don’t think there’s exactly a  _ windfall  _ here. No offense.”

“So, what are you going to do?”

“Like I said.”

“I think with what you’ve got, you’ve done well so far.”

“There is still more to do.” Weiss narrows her eyes.

“Well, I hope you rest well.”

She sighs. “You too.”

* * *

The next morning, Weiss texts the photos to her assistant, asking them to send it over to the necessary people.

They send a thumbs-up emoji back to her.

Thank goodness for Amaranth. They’re a  _ blessing,  _ really, always keeping track of things.

Weiss goes to brush her teeth in the bathroom, and then pads back. She seems to be the only morning person — oh, wait, there’s someone in the kitchen.

She gets dressed for the day, going towards the kitchen. Yang’s cooking up breakfast at the stove.

“Morning, Weiss!”

“Any coffee around here?” she asks.

Yang points towards the coffeemaker, which is full. It takes her back a little bit, to when Weiss was the only one who ever got up early on her team. Blake preferred nighttime, Yang called it beauty sleep, and Clay just woke up at a regular time.

She always enjoyed getting up early. The silence of the morning carries a certain charm to it that nothing else has.

“Thank you.” Yang tilts her head, almost as if to ask something. “I know that I don’t deserve your kindness, after everything.” 

“There’s no one unworthy of kindness,” Yang affirms, “even if you’re disrupting my happy family Christmas celebrations.”

Weiss shrugs. “Well, it’s here or loneliness. At least I have…people around, I guess.” 

“You were going to be alone? Did you and Blake break up?” 

“She’s visiting her parents, and I’m not sure if the other Faunus would be comfortable with me visiting Menagerie.”

Weiss realizes abruptly that her ponytail isn’t tied up. She doesn’t have her hair down very often — she normally sleeps with it up, but she must have taken it down in her exhaustion.

“Oh.” Yang seems almost…sad, and Weiss can’t fathom  _ why.  _ “I’m glad you guys haven’t broken up, though. You…deserve each other.”

No, they don’t, not really. It was Yang and Blake that should have ended up together, but Weiss has…wanted Blake for a long time. She didn’t think she would  _ have  _ Blake, but it took work to get there, and Weiss definitely doesn’t regret being there for Blake.

“Not really. It took a long time to get to the point that we’re at now.”

And honestly, she thought Yang would be out of their lives forever — it isn’t a good thing, because Yang is still Weiss’s  _ friend  _ above all else even if they fell apart, and she feels guilty for the little bit of happiness that comes with the notion. Because it means that Blake can’t be taken away from her.

Either way, what’s done is done, and they can’t come back from it.

Weiss takes a drink of her coffee and takes a deep breath. “What are you making?”

“Just a little something I tossed together. That’s how things go a lot.” Yang shrugs. “Can you grab me some cheese from the fridge?”

“What kind?”

Yang deliberates a little bit on that. “Cheddar, we should have a bag pre-shredded.”

It feels…strangely domestic, almost. She can ignore the fact that she’s only here for business. That she’ll be gone in less than a week, and their relationship will fall apart again.

Well, she can change that last part, at least. She’s not letting them fall by the wayside again.

There’s enough years behind them where she at least is fairly certain it won’t hurt Blake to repair her friendship with Yang.

She grabs the cheddar from the fridge. “Catch.” Yang fumbles to catch it when she throws the packet, but it ultimately doesn’t fall on the floor, so it is a successful catch.

“Thanks.” She puts the cheese over the bowls, five of them. Weiss takes one and grabs a fork, sitting at the table to dig in. Something with egg and potato and cheese and plenty of spices. It tastes home-y, and she still can’t shake how domestic it all feels.

Well, Christmas does tend to be a domestic holiday.

“Thanks for the food. It tastes great.”

“You’re welcome.” Yang winks, but it feels a bit like bravado to Weiss.

Weiss shakes it off, and just tries to enjoy her breakfast and her coffee.

***

She picks up her ringing cell phone in the hallway. “Weiss Schnee, personal cell, how may I help you?” 

She hears giggling on the other end. “Did you not look at the caller ID?”

“Blake,” Weiss answers, and she can tell her voice is more fond. “How are your parents?”

“They were a little disappointed that I didn’t bring you, but when I explained, well…they understood why I didn’t, at least.”

“It was both our decisions.”

“You mentioned Yang when you were texting me?” Blake sounds inquisitive, and that’s a  _ good  _ sign for Weiss being able to patch it up. Maybe they can become the unit they were before again. “How is she doing?”

“I did, and she seems to be doing alright. I don’t know why she’s here — she implied to me that she’s here on a more permanent basis than just Christmas. But I’m not here for that, I’m here for the mine. Her family invited me to stay with them for the holidays. I accepted.”

“I’m glad you have people to celebrate with. And what about Ruby?”

“I talked to Ruby a little bit. I could probably use her to find out more about Yang, but I really don’t want to do that to her. People deserve better than manipulation, in general.”

“True.” Blake seems to deliberate a bit. “Do you want to talk to my parents a bit?”

Weiss sputters. “No! Someone’s bound to be calling any second to talk business with me, gotta go, bye!” She presses the ‘End Call’ button.

“There’s no one calling, is there?”

“Good morning, Ruby,” she says.

“Morning, Weiss! How long were you on the phone?”

“Not…very,” she answers, tilting her head. Ruby wants something from her, she thinks. 

“Did you eat yet?”

“Why do you keep asking me questions?” Weiss answers. “I meant it when I said that there are going to be people calling about what you’ve unearthed.”

“Right. Well, I’m going to assume you did, because Mom and Dad are the only ones with bowls left. Any questions for me?”

“Why were you training? You’ve graduated as a Huntress, I presume you and your team are home right now for Christmas but you’ll be right back to work after.”

“That’s why we need to.” Ruby narrows her eyes. “We’ve been assigned to something…special. What exactly our mission is is confidential, but it’s important for the fate of humanity that we do it.”

“...the fate of humanity, huh?” Weiss has never believed the higher calling thing. That there’s anything bigger than the Grimm out there. And once they eliminate the Grimm — numbers are going down, after all — there’ll be generations more of people that will never have to grow up with the shadow of the monsters hanging over their heads.

“Confidential. But…yeah, the bullet hit the wrong spot, and it exploded on me. Reminded me of my first day at Beacon.”

Weiss remembers she was delivering a box of Dust back to her team when they were third-years so they could all restock and bumping into a first-year student that accidentally triggered the Dust.

She felt bad about snapping at them back then.

The pieces click together. “That was you? My sincerest apologies, I was  _ very  _ short with you.”

“I almost forgot about it, really, in comparison to everything else. But Yang and I have…important things happening, and I don’t want people poking around the island too much.”

“Is there anything to find?” Weiss asks. Because…okay, if it connects to confidential things, she won’t poke around too much. But the photos are already out there. Soon, everyone will be clamoring to get this mine.

“There’s plenty. That’s why I don’t want miners taking this place apart looking for Dust.” Ruby crosses her arms.

“Can’t put the cat back in the bag, Ruby. It’s going to be me, or it’ll be someone else.”

She sighs. “If it has to be anyone…I trust you with it more than anyone else. I don’t know if the important people will really trust you, but I can ask.”

Weiss knows that over 25 years ago, team STRQ did something important that would impact the Grimm forever, and since then the population has been declining. But she has no idea what they did, or why. There’s a mystery somewhere, connected to the legacy of team STRQ and exactly what they did that was so shattering. Everyone worships them — which is probably why they moved out to this tiny island.

But where are the other two members of the team?

Her curiosity has been piqued, now. There’s a deeper secret to Patch, and while Weiss shouldn’t go digging too much, she can at least get a start on it.

Her phone rings with an unidentified number. “Weiss Schnee, personal cell. How may I help you?” She goes into her room, first. She doesn’t want to risk one of the family members catching her in the process, like Ruby would have if Blake hadn’t offered to give the phone over to her parents.”

“Your assistant, she gave me this number. This is Mr. Lierre.”

“How do you do?” Weiss finds herself slipping into what Blake calls “business voice.” “And my lovely assistant Amaranth uses they/them pronouns.”

“Apologies. I think whoever found this mine struck gold. There’s bound to be more in there. And it’s fire Dust, making it all the more valuable.” 

Weiss takes a deep breath. “Okay. You’re the first to input on what I should do, so I  _ will  _ be waiting for further input before I make any decisions.”

“What of the person who found it?”

“She has a family. Two kids, both of them grown but home for the holidays. And a husband. They’re the only ones living on the island.”

“Oh, that actually benefits you.” He pauses on the other end. “That way you don’t have to worry about fighting too hard for property. Just gotta put your fences up and be careful with it.”

Weiss bites her lip. “Thank you for your consideration and advice. Like I said, I will be seeking more input before I make the decision, and I have to consult the Board as well. But it is gratifying to know that you will support me if my choice is to purchase the land necessary for mining.”

“Thank you, Miss Schnee. I hope you have an excellent day.”

“You as well, Mr. Lierre.” 

The phone beeps and she knows he disconnected the line — Atlesian phone calls can sometimes go catastrophically wrong as neither refuses to hang up, but Mr. Lierre sounded as though he were from Vale, so perhaps they didn’t have quite the same hangups with etiquette.

Someone knocks on her door, even though it’s open. In her rush, she forgot to close it.

“Weiss?” Summer pokes her head in. “I would like to speak with you.”

“I’m not on the phone. Go ahead.”

“Ruby told me about the conversation that she and you had this morning, and I would like to give you some information about this island that may inform your decision more.”

Weiss sits at attention. “What is it?”

“Inside this island lays a secret vault. A vault that many have sought to find — but no one has, and it stores something important to the salvation of humanity. Yang, Tai, and I are all here to protect it. Perhaps it’s overkill, but until our purpose is over…we can’t leave it undefended. And Ruby and her team’s mission is a part of that too. There is something revolutionary waiting, and I am uncertain of the consequences. However, miners could potentially  _ find  _ the vault. Not that it is exactly…penetrable from their pickaxes, but I would prefer not to have any questions as to why it’s  _ here.” _

“What exactly is it?”

“It takes a long time to explain, with hundreds upon thousands of years of history. Be grateful that you will never be burdened with it. None of us wanted to pass it onto Ruby and Yang and the rest of team REDD. But they chose to, and they could have chosen otherwise — and  _ didn’t.  _ Team STRQ took on the burden in the hopes that none of you would ever have to. But I suppose that…it always passes.”

“I trust you, but then why did you report it?”

“I have a duty to, I believe.” 

“That’s very admirable of you. But what do you want  _ me  _ to do about it?” 

“Summer!” They both turn their heads towards the door. “Qr-er, someone’s here!” 

“...you should come along for this conversation,” Summer says.

* * *

“What the fuck were you thinking, reporting what was found?” a man at the table snaps, vaguely familiar.

“Qrow,” Summer shakes her head, “this is important for  _ science.  _ It’s not about the capitalists — who have already shown up, by the way—”

“Hey!” Weiss protests, but it isn’t her best work.

“It’s about finding out more about Dust.”

“What’s the solution, then? The SDC are already here, looking to snap it up—”

“I’m  _ right here.”  _ Weiss plants her hands on the table and stands up. “I don’t know who you are, but honestly? I’m  _ probably  _ not going to buy it. And I have a solution for you all.”

“Let’s hear it,” Taiyang says.

“You start your own business. That way you can control where the mine goes, shield the general public from knowing about the vault and what’s in it, and I have more competition.”

“Kid, you’re not as bad as I thought. The name’s Qrow Branwen, by the way.”

“Weiss Schnee, but you already knew that,” she responds curtly, shaking his hand. “I’ll tell whoever I need to if you want to follow my plan. After all, they all know that I’m trying to foster and encourage competition. They don’t precisely understand why — I think competition is necessary for a healthy economy, they think the company should come first.”

“You’ve made a lot of controversial decisions. Admirable that you’re trying.”

“The Schnee Dust Company didn’t  _ always  _ have a negative connotation. Not when my grandfather ran it. I am  _ trying  _ to swing it back to those times.”

“Your reform helps us out, too.” Taiyang looks over at her.

“Tai, don’t give too much away, she already knows too much,” she hears Qrow hiss.

“She was on Yang’s team at Beacon, she’s trustworthy to some degree,” he replies. 

“I don’t really care how the reform helps you. I’m not doing it for some bigger purpose. I’m doing it to take back the Schnee name, and to make sure that everyone who works for me and my company has a life they can live happily.”

“Congratulations! You aren’t a complete dick, how does it feel?”

Weiss rolls her eyes. “Basic human consideration is only the first step. There’s so much further to go still.”

“You said that…we could start our own,” Summer says. “How would we go about doing that?”

“I’m glad you asked, because I’ve helped a lot of companies start up without buying them. You won’t owe me a  _ thing.”  _ Weiss smirks.

And then her phone rings. “I have to take this,” she says, stepping out.

She picks up the phone. “Weiss Schnee, personal cell, how may I help you?”

“Don’t buy it. There won’t be much in there, and more trouble than it’s worth extracting and refining.”

“I no longer plan on it. I plan on helping the family who lives on the island start up their own business. It fosters competition while also keeping it local.”

“That’s admirable of you, Miss Schnee.”

She texts Amaranth after she gets off the line.  _ Tell the rest that I’ve decided that I will not be buying it and instead will be helping the family on the island start their own. _

Amaranth texts her back that they will do it for her.

“So, I was eavesdropping.” Yang leans up against the frame of the door. “My parents are going to be the ones mining?”

“They seem to like that option.” 

“It’s a good idea. You seem to have those sometimes.”

Weiss nods. “You’d think people would realize that more often. But I’ve made a lot of mistakes, too, and it doesn’t always balance out.” She almost goes to touch the scar over her left eye, but pulls her hand down before she can touch.

“I know how that feels,” Yang answers, surprisingly subdued.

And her phone buzzes. She checks her texts. Blake is asking her to call.

“I gotta go.” She hits the call button.

“What is it?”

“Business stuff,” she says, as she hears the line pick up. Yang leaves the room and closes the door behind her.

“I…I needed to talk to you.” Weiss can almost see the way Blake’s ears are probably drooping. “I’m not…naive for thinking humans can do better. You’re proof of that very thing. So many people have trouble believing in  _ change.” _

“Humans need to learn that Faunus aren’t  _ lesser  _ for their extra traits.”

“And Faunus need to believe that humans can unlearn that mindset. So many people are jaded.” Blake takes a breath. “I feel like my parents and I are some of the only ones that still  _ hope.  _ That don’t think it’s  _ stupid  _ to keep hoping that there can be change without violence.”

“I don’t…I can’t speak for your experience. I can’t tell you what to feel. That part’s up to you.”

“I know. But…I love you, and I want to tell as many people as we can.”

“I love you too. Come to the New Years party with me?”

“Sure.”

“And…I think you should talk to Yang.”

“What, she’s forgiven me?”

“You won’t know until you ask,” Weiss points out. “Besides, everyone keeps pointing out the holidays. She might be more forgiving.”

Blake sighs. “There’s…I mean, you know what happened.”

“It isn’t a problem unless…”

“Unless?”

“Do you still have feelings for her?” The notion makes Weiss feels a little bit hurt, because even  _ after  _ all this time, she might still be the one left out at the end — Blake isn’t obligated to stay with her, she can date whoever she wants, but Weiss desperately hopes Blake wants  _ her. _

“That’s ridiculous.” There’s an awkward silence. “Maybe. But, Weiss, I’m not breaking up with you.” 

“I don’t know what to do,” Weiss says. “There isn’t an easy answer for this. But I think you should talk to her again. That’s…a start. That’s something. And we can figure out what exactly comes next when we both have our feelings figured out.” 

“That…sounds good. I’ll text Yang tonight. What’s her number?”

“She hasn’t changed her number.”

“I removed her from my contacts.” If Weiss could glare at Blake right now, she would be. As it is, she glares at the phone. “Bold of you to assume I memorized it.” 

“I’m willing to bet you did, actually,” Weiss says. She hears Blake sigh, and smirks.

“You know me far too well for your own good.”

“I love you,” Weiss says. Because she wants to say it again, because Blake deserves to know that she is loved.

“I love you too.” Weiss hears some noise in the background. “I’ll see you soon?”

“Six days,” she answers, “I’ll be counting down every second.”  _ Beep. _

* * *

She exits her room to find Summer, Taiyang, Qrow, Ruby, and Yang playing some game at the table involving cards. Well, everyone except Qrow has a hand.

“Weiss, perfect, you can partner up with  _ me,”  _ Qrow says. “We’re playing setback.”

“Uncle Qrow isn’t allowed to play unless his boyfriend comes with,” Ruby explains.

“Why?” Weiss furrows her brow.

“Things generally don’t turn out the way people want them to around me. Semblance, you know?”

“Anyone who partners up with him tends to lose.”

“We love you, but it’s just not in the cards,” Taiyang jokes, waving his hand about without exposing any of the cards in it to accentuate the wordplay.

“I don’t even know how to play.”

“I  _ taught  _ you how to play,” Yang says, “how  _ dare  _ you slander my teaching in this way!”

“Sit down, Weiss, there’s still room at the table.” Summer waves over at the seat between Yang and Taiyang.

“Thanks.” She feels awkward sitting down, but…

Qrow seems to be keeping score of the game. She can’t exactly read upside down, but it seems to read S+Y and T+R — so those are the teams.

“Pass,” Ruby says, looking at her hand.

“Pass,” Yang says easily. Weiss remembers abruptly how this game goes — it was hard at Beacon, with Clay refusing to participate in what he called “team bonding exercises” and Yang insisting that it really  _ was  _ a partner game.

Weiss really didn’t think card games were a team bonding thing, just  _ fun.  _ And they all needed to decompress sometimes. She understood wanting to focus on studies — she remembers Yang fruitlessly trying to entice them into having fun their first year. She was actually  _ closer  _ with Clay then, but as they were in classes less and on missions more she grew closer to Blake and Yang and drifted away from what should have been her partner.

She doesn’t take in the actual game until Yang pokes her. “Hey, you want in on the next round? I won’t fault you if you wanna play. We’re switching to Go Fish.”

“Sure,” Weiss answers, and Qrow deals her into the game.

He wins the round, to everyone's surprise.

* * *

“Doesn’t it…get lonely here?” she asks Yang that night. They’re the last ones in the family room still, Weiss reading a book and Yang on her scroll typing away. (She hopes it’s Blake that she’s texting, hopes that they can  _ all  _ reconcile and grow and move forwards.)

“Hm?” Yang looks up, and then realization dawns on her face. “Oh. It…you saw that town off the last exit before the bridge, right? That’s where we run errands to. They all know us as the people who live on Patch.” She shrugs. “It’s…nice enough, I guess. My parents all appreciated the opportunities to retreat from social activities when they needed to. None of them are really extroverts anymore. But as a kid, I was a little lonely. It was…complicated for a lot of reasons. I mean, they’ve all been to hell and back, after all, you don’t come back from that — even victorious — without issues.”

“I’m sure you have personal experience with that,” Weiss answers.

“So do you.”

Weiss blinks. “Not…not compared to so many others. I’m so much better off than a lot of people.”

“I really admire that you were able to pursue your dreams. Even after everything, you were still able to face the stain left on your legacy.”

“I still have issues with Schnee Manor. I only go there to play host to parties. Blake and I live together in Vale. And I don’t understand what’s stopping you.” 

“Trauma isn’t a  _ competition  _ of who’s the most screwed up. And, well, there are people out there that would seek to  _ take  _ what we’re protecting. Even if the worst of them is gone, her followers are still out there.”

“What happened?”

“I’m not allowed to tell you.” Yang’s Scroll buzzes with a reply, and she smiles and picks it up.

“Do you want to come out with me to that town?” Weiss asks suddenly. Yang looks up from reading the paragraph Blake must have been typing all that time. 

“Sure, I’ll show you all the best spots,” Yang answers casually.

Weiss reaches the end of the chapter. “Good night. Tomorrow morning, then?”

“Sure. Get up early — there’s a lot to see in the more niche parts.”

“I’ll set my alarm for sunrise,” she answers, closing the book and getting up off the couch.

* * *

“Yang?” Weiss asks, knocking at her door. Yang groans.

Weiss rolls her eyes. “It’s 8 AM. You said  _ early.” _

“What, you got ready in an hour?”

“Contrary to popular belief, it actually doesn’t take me that long to get ready. Especially on a day like this.” Weiss is dressed in a way that makes sense for where they’re going — the little seashore town, an outfit that will shield her from the cold and will also allow her to walk for long periods of time.

“You know,” Yang says, “not everyone likes getting up early.” But Weiss can hear the creaking of Yang getting up and out of her head, and Weiss: 1, Yang: 0.

Yang opens the door and Weiss falls on top of her, because she was leaning against the door.

Yang: 1, Weiss: 1.

Weiss leans back away from Yang. “Alright. You ready?”

“I still need to brush my teeth. Jeez, what’s a girl gotta do?”

“I gotta find a way to get my car over here, so you have…five to ten minutes.”

“Alright.” Yang winks. 

She checks her Scroll before she gets out of range of the house’s connection. Blake texted her saying that she felt better now. She texts her back, saying that she’s glad.

Weiss pulls her car in slowly on the path. She’s not experienced with driving on dirt roads, so she was afraid to approach the house at first, but she knows the paths a little better now, and the width of her car, so the driving is easier, and now she can actually  _ see  _ the Rose-Xiao Long house from her car.

A crow caws in a tree.

She beeps her horn twice sharply to announce that she’s waiting for Yang. The crow flies off.

Yang comes out the door and gets into the car, a wallet dangling from her wrist. Despite the heavy-ish coat resulting from the brisk weather, she dons a pair of aviators, too.

Yang gets in the car and hands the sunglasses to Weiss.

She tucks them into the compartment in the car, and drives off towards the bridge.

* * *

The day out is fun. She and Yang mess around with each other, and she gets a present for her  _ gracious  _ hosts while there, and Blake. She already gave some of her presents for Blake, but she’s always deserved more than Weiss could give her. They also go on a little hike — she has Myrtenaster for the hike, but as it turns out she doesn’t need it in the end.

“You get me a present?” Yang asks. 

“I did. Not that you need to know what it is right now,” Weiss answers, booping Yang’s nose in some unknown urge. “Three more days.”

The sun is setting as they cross the bridge into Patch again, having fun.

“And just where have you two been?” someone new asks.

“Um. Mother.” Yang crosses her arms, which seems like it’d be difficult to do with a couple bags in her hands. “What are you doing here?”

Weiss tilts her hip to emphasize the presence of her weapon at her waist and transfers the boxes in her arms so instead of holding them over her chest she was holding them at her side.

_ “Don’t  _ call me that,” the stranger says. “It  _ is  _ Christmas after all. I’m here for Summer and Tai.”

Yang flinches. “Look, I know you think that I’m a mistake.”

“That’s…” Yang’s mother turns away. “I just came to drop off a couple presents. I didn’t know you would be here.”

“If you came by more than every five years, you’d know,” Yang answers, eyes igniting with her Semblance.

“Yang.” Weiss steps up to support her. Yang looks over at her, eyes fading back to purple.

“It’s  _ dangerous  _ for me to be here. You know why.”

“Letters! Text messages! Maybe even use Qrow as a messenger! There are ways around that! And besides…I know you have a way to come to us any time you want, instantaneously.” 

Oh.

The stranger in front of her is Raven Branwen, the last member of team STRQ.

“I don’t know your history,” Weiss begins, “but I do know that it is December 22nd, and your desires aren’t really conflicting. So, whatever this is, shouldn’t be an argument. It’s a time for…forgiveness, or something like that. I know that family is difficult. I’m probably one of the few that truly  _ does  _ understand that.”

“I don’t know what the—”

“Mother, meet Weiss Schnee.”

“What, is she your girlfriend or something?” Raven scoffs.

“I’m taken,” Weiss answers, “here on business, or something resembling that.”

“Oh, and those gifts are all a part of business? There can be more than one, you know, but I presume you grew up too sheltered to really know  _ anything  _ about alternative relationships.”

“My girlfriend is a Faunus. I have no problem with  _ alternative.  _ And like I said, this doesn’t have to be an argument.” But “there can be more than one” still sticks in Weiss’s brain. She puts it on the shelf of  _ things to think about later,  _ along with whatever attraction might be resurfacing with Yang.

“You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that.” Raven slashes a…rift (Weiss can’t think of anything better, even with her expansive vocabulary at her fingertips) into space, and steps through it.

“So that’s what you meant,” Weiss says, turning to Yang. She sets the wrapped boxes under the tree. “You still have to wrap?”

“Yeah.” Yang grabs the bag. “I…well, congratulations, you survived meeting all three of my parents.”

Three of Yang’s parents.

“Right. I’ll…be back. Got important things to do.” Weiss walks to her room and sheds her jacket.

What was that?

And now, on her list of things to think about later. “There can be more than one.”

Is that the solution? Is it  _ really  _ that easy? Weiss knows she loves Blake and that Blake loves her. So, despite their…despite whatever’s going on with Yang, the surprisingly quick reconnection, they can  _ still  _ make it through this.

She texts Blake.  _ Call me? _

A few minutes later, she hears her Scroll ringing and picks it up straight away.

“What’s up?” Blake asks.

“Um. Do…you know about relationships that have more than one person?”

Blake seems to hesitate. “Oh.”

“What is it?”

“Well, you might not have kept up with anyone after graduation besides me — and don’t fault yourself for that, you had a  _ lot  _ to do, but you remember team JNPR, yeah?”

“How could I forget?” Weiss remembers her  _ disastrous  _ crush on Pyrrha, in hindsight visible from space but she kept denying her attraction to women too.

“They’re all together.”

“Oh.” Now it’s Weiss’s turn. “I was thinking about some things. I…was out with Yang today, getting some last minute Christmas presents, and saw some people out at the market there.”

“You get me something nice?”

“I’ll be sure to send you a picture in a few days.” 

“Wait, actually?” Blake sounds really happy, and Weiss is reminded once again why she loves her. “I’m looking forward to getting it when we’re both home, then.”

“Five more days. Counting down,” Weiss says.

“Five more days. Love you.”

“Love you too— wait, are we actually doing the thing where we invite Yang into our relationship?” Because there really isn’t anyone else that Weiss could think of wanting besides the two of them, not anymore.

“I…don’t…I want to. I just don’t know if I should.”

“Me too. So if we both want it, then…then we should do it. We should go for it.”

“I’m in Menagerie still, and we’re going to be back in the city after the 27th. And we’re still going to be separated.”

“I don’t have an easy answer. Negotiating a relationship with us in different places will be difficult, but I think we can do it.”

“You’re the most determined person I know.” She can hear Blake’s smile on the other end.

“I think I should say the same to you, really,” Weiss answers. And really, it’s easy for them to get caught in a feedback loop of complementing each other like this.

Blake lets out a slight chuckle. “So, are we going to…schedule it, or something?”

“I don’t know. Should we do it before or after Christmas?”

“I think…after. So, the 26th?” 

“It’s a…date,” Blake settles on the word after a bit of contemplation, laughing a bit. Weiss can’t help but laugh at that comment, too.

“I love you.”

“I love you too. Always.”

She hears a beep on the other end, and sighs.

Now what?

Well, she knows what’s still left. The company details with Summer and Tai and Qrow, and she still has a bit of investigation left with what  _ exactly  _ is going on. The vault, why it’s too dangerous for Raven to stick around long, what exactly team STRQ did, who the  _ she  _ Yang referred to is, why the Grimm population is recovering, what exactly team REDD’s mission is.

And Christmas. The least of her worries, really.

* * *

She’s not as intimately familiar with Vale law, but her knowledge of general business combined with Qrow’s knowledge of the law (which is  _ slightly  _ confusing, but she can roll with the punches) make for a good paperwork marathon, accompanied by Christmas music (every time one of her own songs comes on, she flinches) and hot chocolate courtesy of Summer. Ruby flits in and out, but she and Yang are wrapping presents in the family room, and the other four aren’t allowed to peek while they’re wrapping.

When Summer signs the last paper, Weiss grins.

“Congratulations, the Stardust Co-Op has now come to existence! Now we just need to mail it to the proper authorities, and you’ll be all set. Can’t wait to see you on the trading floor.”

“I can handle the mail,” Qrow says, and they work on sealing the envelopes.

“Any Christmas cards?” she asks, shrugging. “I’m not really one for them — don’t have much in the way of friends, but when I was still with my family my father made me sign cards for all of my fans. It was…an experience.”

“That sounds like torture,” Summer comments. “We don’t have many people to send them to, either, so we don’t.”

“Most of our family is in this house. Ruby’s team are an extension, and yours and Yang’s would be too if you hadn’t fallen apart. And so’s my sister, however much Yang has a love/hate relationship with that fact.”

“Right. Yang and I encountered your sister yesterday dropping off presents.” 

Qrow bursts out into laughter. Both Summer and Tai look over at him strangely. “Rae…actually dropped by?”

“You can ask Yang about it if you want. Or check under the tree. I’m sure they’re there.”

“Don’t come in here,” Ruby calls. “And Weiss, don’t  _ tell  _ them to come in here!”

Weiss rolls her eyes and looks out the window. Since when was it dark outside?

Qrow looks outside, tucks the manila folder into his jacket, and puts it on as he gets out the door.

“I didn’t see another car on the island. How is he going to get to the mailbox on the mainland?”

“Qrow has his own talents,” Summer says.

_ Add that to the list of mysteries surrounding this island, _ Weiss thinks.

“We should get started on dinner so we have it ready when he gets back. He’s always exhausted after a long run,” Summer declares, getting up. “Weiss, would you like to help? We can also blindfold you so Ruby and Yang can escort you back to your room and no surprises are spoiled.”

“I’ll take the cooking over being blindfolded, thank you very much,” she jokes in return.

* * *

On Christmas Eve, they all get snowed in. According to Qrow, it started around midnight, and it doesn’t snow often where they are — they maybe get a good coating once or twice a year. But it looks like a good storm. Weiss is intimately familiar with snow.

She snaps a picture to show Blake, who responds with jealousy, and asks them to build a snowman. She builds a mini one herself and shows off that, too, little pebbles decorating its body.

Shoveling is going to be the hardest part of this. And her car isn’t built to get out — well, she just has to hope that it’s most of the way melted by the time she needs to pick Blake up.

Well, she should enjoy the snow while she still can. Before it becomes more of a nuisance than something to be excited about.

* * *

Christmas Day. They all unwrap their presents. Weiss receives a book, filled with handwriting from Ruby.

“Everything you need to know is in there.” So, she’s finally going to have the answers to her questions.

“How long did this take?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Yang’s present from the market is actually fairly simple. It’s an illustrated book about the flora of Vale, and she’ll treasure it as much as Blake will. Yang places a wrapped something in Weiss’s arms, but when she goes to undo the ribbon Yang stops her, saying that the present is for Blake.

She takes pictures of hers and Yang’s presents for Blake together, asking Blake to guess the contents.

And she finally gets to settle down with the book while the rest watch a movie — information seems to have come from various sources, actually. It tells of an almost unbelievable story, of Ozpin and a villain named Salem pitted against each other in an endless battle — until team STRQ managed to break through.

Salem being defeated means that there is no one to control the Grimm and their reproduction, so it makes sense that it’s slowing down.

And a few other things, too. Their third year at Beacon and the rogue Fall Maiden, Raven’s status as Spring putting a target on her back, the crown within the vault underneath the unassuming cottage…

It’s overwhelming. And she doesn’t know why she’s being brought into this fight, exactly what she can do, until she reads that Winter is the next designated as the Winter Maiden when she dies.

And Yang as a protector, a guardian…it makes far too much sense. And now she knows that she is  _ selfish  _ for wanting to tear her away from that duty.

Weiss can help. She can help by uniting humanity, by making sure that the gods can come back — so that they can make sure there is no remnant of them left.

The plan is risky, if she’s read it right. But it’s brilliant in its audacity, and it may not even happen in her lifetime. In any of their lifetimes, besides the ever-living Oz.

“So, you in?” Yang asks, “On the next movie, that is.”

“I’m in on whatever you have to offer me,” Weiss says. “What’s the next movie?”

“Oh, you know, some historical fiction about your grandpa. Figured you might want to mock the inaccuracies.”

“That sounds  _ excellent.”  _ Weiss closes the book, and figures something that takes a little less brain power will be good.

* * *

Her last full day in this place. Amaranth relays the message that some of the investors aren’t happy, but if she plays her cards right at the New Years party, she can still win them back.

She’s  _ so  _ grateful for Amaranth; they let her do the things she wants to do, stay out of Atlas as much as she wants.

She knocks on Yang’s door and texts Blake.  _ It’s time. _

“Come in.” Weiss slips in and shuts the door behind her. Blake calls Yang’s Scroll.

“Put me on speaker,” she hears Blake say.

“What? No, Weiss is here, I need to kick her out—”

“Don’t kick her out, both of us have something important to say to you.”

Yang tentatively sets her Scroll onto the bed and puts it on speaker. “Alright, I’ll bite.”

“We want you to be with us. Inviting you into our relationship,” Weiss says, and somehow the words she’s prepared have left her entirely, something about pining during Beacon and how Blake and Yang were supposed to be the ones leaving her out and now  _ none of them have to be left out. _

“I thought you two were always supposed to leave me out,” Yang says.

“I did too,” Weiss says.

“I was a little jealous of you two these past couple days,” Blake confesses, and all three of them laugh.

The air is cleared a little bit.

“I have to stay on Patch. It’s a long story.”

“We can make that work. Weiss and I worked even when Weiss was in Atlas — wait, that was before we were involved.”

“We’ll  _ try,  _ is what we’re saying,” Weiss steps in. “I never thought that we’d end up here. I didn’t think I would get this opportunity, and I’m so grateful that I have it.”

“I’d be happy to,” Yang says.

“Weiss and I are going to be publicly coming out next week. Are you okay with that?”

“You two were together before. Besides, Weiss, you’re gonna do great things by coming out with Blake. I can be your dirty little secret.” She winks.

“That’s good,” Weiss responds.

“I love you,” Blake says, “but I have to get going soon, packing for the flight.”

Weiss nods, but realizes that Blake can’t see her. “I love you too.”

“Love you three,” Yang says, and it feels truly complete.

* * *

When Weiss pulls out of Patch, it’s with a new girlfriend and regular friend, a host of new information, a new group of people she can call family, and a  _ great deal of happiness. _

She knows she’ll be returning soon with Blake. And then all three of them will be in the same place for the first time in ages. And she doesn’t know exactly where it’ll go from there, but she knows she wouldn’t have it any other way.

**Author's Note:**

> expect the new years party fic around the 31st
> 
> happy holidays! 💛


End file.
